RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Ouachita Baptist’s Megan Askew (picturd left) and Arkansas-Monticello’s Katie Slaughter (pictured right) have been named the Great American Conference Softball Players of the Week for their performances during the second week of the 2012 season.

GAC SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ouachita Baptist junior outfielder Megan Askew has been named the GAC Softball Player of the Week after hitting .471 and driving in eight runs during her team’s 4-2 start to the 2012 season. The Weatherford, Texas native went 8-for-17 at the plate, including three doubles and one homerun for a weekly.824 slugging percentage. Askew made five starts throughout the week for the Lady Tigers and turned in three multi-hit games, including her best performance, a 3-for-4 outing in a 9-3 win over 20th-ranked Midwestern State last Monday. Askew smashed a grand slam in that win in just her second plate appearance of the season. Her other two multi-hit games came in a 2-for-4 outing with one RBI and one run scored in a 4-3 loss to Delta State on Friday, and a 2-for-3 performance in a 7-3 win over Missouri S&T on Saturday. Askew also tallied a two-RBI double in the bottom of the first inning of a 6-0 win over No. 23 Missouri Western State on Friday.

GAC SOFTBALL PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Arkansas-Monticello freshman Katie Slaughter has been named the GAC Softball Pitcher of the Week after recording 11 strikeouts and allowing only four hits in a complete-game 6-2 victory over Rockhurst University this past Sunday on neutral ground at the OBU-HSU Classic in Arkadelphia, Ark. It was the Austin, Texas native’s collegiate softball debut with the 12th-rank Cotton Blossoms. Her two runs allowed came on one swing, a two-run homerun by RU’s Tiffany Murdock in the second inning. After that homerun, Slaughter only allowed RU to reach scoring position once more in the contest. She finished the contest by retiring the final nine RU batters consecutively, including five of her 11 strikeouts.

NOTABLE NOMINEES
1 – Kori Oord, JR, OF, SW Oklahoma State (5-for-9, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 1 HR in a 2-1 week)
1 – Jennifer Hickman, SR, SS, Arkansas-Monticello (4-for-6, 1 2B, 1 HR in a 1-1 week)
1 – Katey Gorsage, JR, OF, Henderson State (8-for-19, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 2 HR in a 4-2 week)
1 – Sierra Gomez, FR, 1B/DP, Arkansas Tech (4-for-7, 4 RBI, 4 runs scored, 3 2B, 1 HR in a 2-2 week)
2 – Cassie Chambless, SR, P, SW Oklahoma State (combined 3-0 shutout of Texas-Permian Basin, 5.1 inn., 5 hits, 4 SO)
2 – Victoria Huie, FR, P, Arkansas Tech (11.1 inn., 9 SO, perfect game in a 23-0 win over Univ. of the Ozarks)
2 – Rayn House, SO, P, Ouachita Baptist (2-1 weekly record, 2 no-hitters until sixth inning of both)
(1 – Nominated for player of the week… 2 – Nominated for pitcher of the week… Only highlights shown for notable nominees)